Notes on International Relations 1919-1939

• Democratic Republic

• The German people regarded the Socialists as Communists

• The Republic would exist to benefit its people

• But the Republic never gained the full support of the German people

• E.g. Always associated with the Treaty of Versailles
• The loss of the monarchy and army, both of which common Germans loved, was always blamed on the Republic

• Hindenburg:

• After the cease fire and before the Treaty, the Reichstag set about investigating why they lost the war
• Hindenburg was invited to testify and when he arrived in Berlin, people cheered him as a war hero

• He said that Germany lost the war because of Socialist, Communists and Jewish politicians

• Dollstoss – Stab in the back

• Over the next 5 years there were a series
• Rathenau – Foreign minister

• Killed in 1922 partly because he was Jewish but more so because he was associated with Versailles

• Ebert had appendicitis but put off a simple operation to fight the Right-wing press’s accusations of betrayal and later died of that appendicitis

• Right-wing press was out to get anyone who was associated with the loss of the war, Versailles and the Stab in the back theories

Why was Weimar unpopular?

• Versailles, seen as synonymous with Weimar, was a dictate which:

• Took away their army
• Took away land
• Took away colonies
• Took away people

• Returning Soldier, 1919 – “The most terrible treason in world history the red traitor Ebert signed the Treaty of Versailles”

• Germans, including Ebert, didn’t like Versailles but Ebert was forced to sign and if he didn’t the Allies threatened to continue fighting and invade Germany

• In March 1918, Lenin signed a unconditional treaty with the Keiser and then the German army took a massive amount of land

• In November in the same year the Germans start complaining that the same thing is happening to them by the Allies

• Ebert, and by accusation the Weimar Republic, were blamed for the Treaty of Versailles

• The German people thought that Ebert and the socialists were traitors of Germany

• Cartoon = starving child (The Well Fed German?)

• Social comment on how the reparations were effecting the people of Germany

• i.e. people were starving
• link between politics and social

• 1923 – Germany missed a payment and French and Belgium troops occupied the Ruhr

• They were going to take what was owed in the form of goods

• However, Ebert ordered a strike and the workers willingly agreed in a form of passive resistance

• “An unjust occupation”
• Albert Leo Schlageter (he represents the violent response to the invasion)

• Army Volunteer and a Lieutenant during the First World War
• Could not come to terms with the e

• Member of the Frei Korps

• And an early member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP)

• He organised acts of sabotage agenised
• Caught and sentenced to death after attacking a railway line

• He is later remembered as a mater for the Nazi Party

• The French and Belgium troops retaliated and dealt with the workers ruthlessly

• 100 people were executed
• 100,000 people exiled

• The strike had a damaging effect on Germany

• The Ruhr is the industrial heart-land of Germany

• To counter the industrial slowdown, Ebert printed more money

• This money wasn’t backed by gold or silver bullion
• However, this caused Hyper-Inflation

• No inflation in 1929
• In 1924 a Billion Mark note was issued and even this couldn’t get a loaf of bread

• Ebert’s carrier was over and he was replaced by Stresemann who:

• Called off the Ruhr strike
• Made a new currency called the Renten Mark
• Negotiated with the allies powers for a reduction for the reparation payments
• He borrowed huge amounts from the US

• Dawes Plan – 1924

• The Dawes Plan helped Germany into an Economic Boom
• 1928 – the Nazi Party had less then 20 seats in the German Parliament
• In 1932, four years later, they had over 200 seats

• This was due to the Global Economic Recession (i.e. Wall St. Crash)

• He thought Germany had to get on with her neighbours

• He offered an Olive Branch to the west by recognising the new Western Boundaries

• The West saw him as the “Good German”
• Nuanced Diplomacy (Subtle Diplomacy)

• However, he never recognised the Eastern Boundaries

• Briand – French Foreign Minister 1925-1932

• In 1926 he received the Nobel Peace Prize along with Stresemann

• Both were recognised as “politicians of reconciliation and negotiation”

Achievements of the Weimar Republic

• Cultural Boom

• Germany was the most culturally exiting place in Europe with outstanding movements in:
• Design/architecture

• Bauhaus – School of Architecture

• Film
• Theatre
• Music
• Technological

• Famous for innovation and daring
• For the first time, the German people enjoy true Freedom of Speech

• Artists and audiences enjoyed this freedom
• 1924-1929 Extremist parties lost their appeal

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Technological achievements of the Weimar Republic

• The German ship Bremen crossed the Atlantic from Cherbourg to New York in four days 12 hours and 17 minutes in June of 1929 to win the Blue Riband for the fastest ocean passage.

• This trophy was celebrated in Germany as a national victory and in the press reports and newsreels of the day

• It was seen as symbolising the country’s seemingly unstoppable economic rise

• It was a 40,000 tonne steamer and it was launched on the 16th August 1928 in the presence of the (2nd) President of the Weimar Republic Von Hindenburg

• Two years (1931) later the award went to the Bremen sister ship Europa.

• The gigantic new bridge at Cologne – Mülheim was the largest suspension bridge in Europe and the 32nd bridge built over the river Rhine.

• It was officially opened in a ceremony on the 13th October 1929

• The 1920s was the era of the airship and the leader in the field was the German zeppelin plant in Freidrichshafen on the shores of Lake Constance.

• The peak of the ear was reached with the Graf Zeppelins circumnavigation of the globe between 15th August and 5th September 1929.

• This airship became a national symbol

• The largest air ship in the world was the LZ127.

• The first flight to the USA was in 1928 and this first transatlantic crossing was proclaimed at the time as an event of national importance.

• N.B. the age of the Zeppelins came to an end after several serious fires in the 1930s. Commercial aviation then concentrated exclusively on the building fleets of aircraft which were able to transport passengers more quickly and cheaply and in greater safety.

• On may 6th 1937 the Hindenburg exploded as it approached it mooring at Lakehurst, New Jersey

• The 245 meters had just completed its 11th transatlantic crossing
• A small explosion and fire occurred at 7:21 pm followed by a second stunning explosion
• Flames burst through the end of the ship
• In less than a minute the entire airship collapsed to the ground engulfed in flames
• 96 of the 97 people onboard were killed
• For several years, zeppelins like the Hindenburg had seemed to be the transportation of the future

• The giant German flying boat the Dornier D0-X arrived in New York on the 6th September 1931, carrying 60 passengers and landed in New York harbour after flying over the city

• The plane had left Lake Constance in Germany nearly a year earlier.

• The Dornier represented a triumph of German technology.

• It was launched on the 13th July 1929, weighed 50 tonnes, was equipped with 12 engines and could accommodate 100 passengers on 3 decks.

• It even had special sleeping cabins for guests.

• The flying boat had a wing span of 157 ft. (48 meters)

• It could reach a speed of 150 mph